It appears those bounders at the Olympic Committee have voted against making New York City the site of the 2012 Olympics.

Binkey and Muffy had SO counted on Celebrity Box Seats.

Howard had counted on the commissions he would have earned setting up the financing. (Priscilla had counted on the extra alimony she would have been able to gouge out of Howard.)

This is just…..TRAGIC !!

Mayor Bloomberg- a whiny little man who could buy and sell most of the Beautiful People-had counted on BECOMING a Beautiful Person. (Hah!)

He had also counted on getting a lion’s share of the Labor Vote,and some support from the assorted minority pressure groups,because the Olympics would have created temporary-but-visible jobs.

Hillary Clinton was disappointed too. She had,after all,lent her considerable power and prestige to the Olympic bid, had accepted the Adoration of the Media ,and had offered to talk to like-minded people on the Olympic Committee….but they weren’t having any.

(The coarse-minded might suggest the Committee tossed Hillary a quarter and suggested she call up all her friends; but if so,I would never be so rude as to repeat it.)

Some of the “Un-Beautiful” People were saddened by events.

Tommy (Little Monster) Bentnose was disappointed because he had hoped to dip his beak here and there as the lucrative contracts were dished out.He was so chagrined at the bad news,he tossed a delinquent debtor into the olive press

His boss on the Council was so distraught over the ruin of a perfectly good olive press,he had Tommy and his car tossed off a bridge into the Raritan River. ( I think they call that a “Chappaquiddick Cruise”.)

The Media were the most disappointed : They would have to send their reporters to Britain to cover the Olympics, and that would cut into the profits .

There were some uncouth people who danced for joy at the “bad news.” .

I’m not sure,but I’ve heard rumors the TAXPAYERS were delighted at not being saddled with monstrous millions of additional debt – like the citizens of every city the Olympics has ever graced with its presence.

THE WORKING PUBLIC ,which has enough trouble getting to and from work now,was happy to learn there would be no utter collapse of transportation for this “worthy cause”.

THE REST OF US were kind of pleased as well. New Yorkers are hard-to-love in the best of times. Hosting the Olympics would have made them downright insufferable !
¶ 3:37 PM

THE MORNING PAPER – July 6,2005

Global Warming is very much in the news and on my mind today.

It appears to me – having read the opinions of several conscientious scientists who are demonstrably NOT in the pay of Big Oil or Evil Neo-Con Think Tanks,the Global Warming bunch have elevated unprovable hypothesis to the level of “scientific dogma”,and are teaching it as such in our schools.

Ask any child or young adult,and they will tell you : “Global warming is a proven fact.”

What they mean by this is that the developed Western nations-notably the United States-are consuming so much fuel that we have turned the world into a big greenhouse,where trapped combustion fumes hold the sun’s heat in:causing temperatures to rise.

A decade ago,some of these same climatologists were predicting these same trapped fumes would block the sunlight and trigger a new ice age. This was also taught as “a proven fact” in our classrooms-way back when !

What is of more interest-to me,anyway-is the way the Left Wing Extremists in our society (they prefer to be called Progressives) have latched on to Global Warming as yet another mechanism for political warfare.

More and more,one can see long-winded political diatribes being interwoven with strands of pseudo-science by the Extreme Left ; and more and more it becomes clear they are fashioning a “snare and delusion”- which, if not confronted,may well leave us hogtied and helpless down the road.

Why would any rational group have such a goal ?

I’m inclined to doubt they have any deep,dark,secret conspiracies going on. They seem far too disorganized for that.

What I suspect is that they are like strings on a guitar: strike a note on any one,and the rest will buzz sympathetically…without wondering why. (Saying this infuriates them,but I’ve seen it happen so often, it’s no longer remarkable ! )

Ah, but whose hand is on those guitar strings ?

My guess would be a nation that is notorious as the world’s worst polluter; a nation that would very much like the world to look elsewhere;a nation that is engaged in intense competition for the world’s resources and markets; a nation whose form of government still “resonates” to some degree with the Extreme Left : The “Democratic People’s Republic” of China.
¶ 8:59 AM

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

THE MORNING PAPER – July 5,2005

The New York Media is all aghast and agog over “yet another hate crime in Howard Beach”.

Howard Beach is a neighborhood in Queens,NY.The residents are predominantly White, middle class , hard-working people of Italian descent.

Over the years,they have learned their neighborhood is considered a target of opportunity by some of the young Black people who live nearby.They have also learned the police will not do anything about these marauders-for fear of being accused of “rousting” them.

This has led to a certain spirit of “vigilante” action in Howard Beach – sometimes with tragic results. In the 1980’s,a Black youth,walking through the area,was set upon by some of the locals and beaten to death.

At approximately 3:00 AM,on June 29,2005,three Black youths came into Howard Beach for the purpose of stealing a car,but were discouraged by the presence of potential witnesses.

19 year old Nicholas Minucci says he was accosted by the trio,and that one of them-22 year old Glen Moore threatened him with a screwdriver,in an effort to steal his jewelry.

The police say they doubt this story-but all parties seem to agree that Minucci hooked up with two friends;that the three men got into a car and began looking for the “invaders”; and that,on locating them,they jumped out of the car and gave chase.

One of “the home team” threw an aluminum baseball bat at the fleeing Blacks;supposedly shouting : “This is what you get if you want to rob White boys – Nigger !”

This one angry utterance turned the situation into a “hate crime”.

What followed was certainly no love fest !

Two of the Blacks escaped – and called police. Glen Moore,also fleeing, stumbled,and was allegedly beaten so severely about the head his skull was fractured. Minucci was the alleged assailant,and has reportedly admitted it to police.

What followed was interesting. The Daily News, NY Times,and the NY television stations reported the incident as a probable hate crime-downplaying any role played by the three would-be car thieves.

Glen Moore, who evidently served in the Army at one time,was depicted in uniform: posed in front of a United States flag.This is a fairly typical Basic Training shot,but the impression created was that White thugs had attacked a Black soldier.

Given Moore’s age (22),and the fact he was apparently out trying to steal cars,it seems doubtful Mr. Moore and the Army have anypresent relationship – but nobody is in a hurry to clarify that aspect.

The Howard Beach “scene of the crime” was treated today to a (police escorted) motorcade,starring New York’s premiere race-baiter: the Reverend Al Sharpton.

This being a NYC Mayoral Election year,the whiny Mr. Bloomberg,has been heard from – repeatedly; and every city official who can elbow a path to the network cameras,has done so,or is scheduled to do so.

New York City,we are told, is a very diverse community,with zero tolerance for racial/ethnic/religious/gender hate.

This is,of course, utter and complete horse hockey.

New Yorkers hate one another with a passion that has to be seen to be believed…but they feel guilty about it : so guilty,in fact, they have enacted “hate crime” laws.

Mr. Minucci and his friends-if convicted-actually face more courtroom jeopardy for using racial epithets than they do for causing Glen Moore serious bodily harm.

Aggravated Assault is no laughing matter…but “hate crimes” are a very bad joke.
¶ 8:40 AM

Monday, July 04, 2005

THE MORNING PAPER

July 4,2005

My wife beat me to the paper this morning, so she gets dibs on the good part: the Comics.

Me ? I'm stuck with the Editorial section;so I leaf over to Reader Opinions-(formerly known as Letters to the Editor).

Hey ! Happy Independence Day !

Our "Opining Readers" seem to have demonstrated their talent and dedication to independent thinking by submitting "cut-and-paste" letters

(For anyone unfamiliar with this,certain organizations supply Reader Opinion letters,which they invite you to copy-with a few clicks of the mouse-and e-mail to your local paper.)

Let's see: there's one from MoveOn.org-the true,clear voice of Multi-billionaire George Soros...and here's one fromA.N.S.W.E.R. .-the true,clear voice of Trotsky-style Communism in America (ever so much more fashionable than Stalinism,don't you think ?).

This one seems to have originated at Antiwar.com-a group of "anarchists-in-bowties",that claims to be Libertarian-and here's one from "The Mickey Moore Club" (need I elaborate ?)

Finally,there's one from a woman,who does not seem to be affiliated with any specific group.(She doesn't need to be affiliated,because she is one very nasty piece of work,all by herself !)

She's ticked off because the Armed Forces are getting our attention this holiday weekend. Why,she wonders,should we care whether they get killed or wounded ? They are armed, aren't they ?

We should,she says,be paying attention to Gender Issues,Potty Parity,the high prices charged at beauty salons;tuition hikes at suitable private schools,and Social Problems-such as the cost of refuelling a luxury model SUV.

Sigh.............

Come on, dear ! Are you reading those comics or memorizing them ??
¶ 7:10 AM

Friday, July 01, 2005

IT'S THAT 4th OF JULY TIME AGAIN !

Firecrackers are popping !Hot dogs ,hamburgers,and chicken are sizzling .Merchants are offering unbelievable deals on just about anything.Patriotic bunting has been hung,and marching bands are tuning up.It's going to be a great Independence Day weekend !

Politicians-you'd-never-buy-a-used-car-from will be making their usual speeches.

Oh well.

Representative Maxine Waters,(D),Los Angeles,who has taken a record 52 lobbyist-paid trips,worth over $132,000,to such destinations as Cuba,Puerto Rico,and Montego Bay,made a speech denouncing the President of the United States as a liar,and the Vice President as "a thief"-according to reports in People's Weekly World Newspaper-a Communist publication.

It is not surprising to find her featured in the Communist media ,as she is a long-term admirer of Fidel Castro:despite the fact he is a brutal dictator,whose regime exploits and abuses Black people routinely.

On September 29,1998 ,she wrote him concerning a "brave revolutionary"-Assata Shakur-better known in New Jersey as Joanne Chesimard: a convicted cop killer,who broke out of prison and fled to Cuba. El Barbudo - The Bearded One ,gave her political asylum, and Rep. Waters approved heartily.

I wonder, as the signers of the Declaration of Independence screwed up their courage and signed their names to a document that could get them hanged as traitors-did they-in their worst nightmares-ever imagine someone like Representative Maxine Waters would be a part of American government ?

I suspect,if they had forseen such an event, we'd all be singing :God Bless the Queen".
¶ 6:33 PM

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

THE MORNING PAPER

I hear a "splat !" on the driveway,and stroll out to retrieve the morning paper.

What have we here ?

Inside the bag,beside the newspaper,there is a plastic extension bar-designed to fit inside one's toilet paper dispenser.It will accomodate the new "Mega rolls" of "squeezably soft" tissue being introduced by the wonderful folks at CharminThere's even a picture of the bear cub that does you-know-what in the woods...but wipes ! Isn't that special ?

Oh,well. Let's see what's in the paper.

"Speech by the President" - open to page A 9.(The front page has been taken up by Gay Weddings in Canada and other important stuff.)Hmm... At least the paper had two of its reporters actually watch the speech.

The Associated Press published highlights of the speech,and critical reactions by Democrats-plus the reporter's own opinions... hours before the speech was given.( It would have been funny if the President had given an entirely different speech ! )

Let's see: New Jersey's Attorney General -criticized by some as "ethically challenged" -vows he will combat racial profiling by municipal police departments now,and will bankrupt the offending towns with lawsuits if the practice continues.

Translation: The NJ State Police have been bludgeoned and intimidated into giving drug traffickers a free pass , but local departments have been scooping up some of these young entrepreneurs -who tend to be Black or Hispanic-as they detour onto the local roadways; and this obstruction of interstate trade is just....intolerable !

Moving along, I read the rest of the paper: hoping against hope a certain story will finally be printed.

It wasn't,and probably won't be,but here it is:

At a place called Husaybah,in Iraq-up near the Iraqi-Syrian frontier,the Marines of Item Company,3rd Battalion,Regimental Combat Team 2 occupy a bunker-reinforced base camp,which is under more-or-less constant harassing attack. It is early morning.

Suddenly four mortar rounds fly over the base-impacting close together,and,as the alert is sounded,the base comes under heavy fire:mortars,machines guns,and rocket-propelled grenades: three of which hit the Combat Operations Center.The Marines saddle up and man their defensive posts.

A dump truck and a fire truck begin rolling toward the camp entrance.Two men.manning a machine gun in a forward bunker,are knocked down and stunned when an RPG hits their bunker.The resulting dust clouds obstruct their vision of the oncoming trucks,and intense small arms fire forces them to keep their heads down.

Joshua Butler, a young Lance Corporal from Altoona,Pa. sees the oncoming dump truck and opens fire with his Squad Automatic Rifle: causing the truck to veer off and detonate-about 40 yards from his post.

The blast knocks Butler down.One piece of shrapnel breaks the goggles on the front of his helmet-but he gets up again-and sees the red fire truck racing towards his post at about 40 mph.

A fellow Marine,Lance Corporal Charles Young of Oldsmar,Fl. fires grenades at the oncoming truck: slowing it down.

LCpl. Butler can see into the truck by now.There are two men inside:their faces covered by black scarves.He opens fire with his SAW again: forcing the truck to veer aside. It explodes-only 30 yards from his position.

The explosion causes a huge fireball,and its force shatters windows and pulls doors right off their hinges.

Moments later, a third truck explodes-this one further out.

The obviously-well-coordinated attack continues.Cpl. Anthony Fink of Columbus,Ohio,and 1st Sgt. Donald Brazael fire anti-tank missiles at a wall the enemy is using for cover: knocking it down with two direct hits. The fire subsides,permitting the Marines to restock their badly depleted ammunition.

At this point,approximately 100 terrified schoolchildren run out of a school,situated across the street from the base.The "heroic insurgents" seek cover behind the children-something that has happened time and time again in Iraq-but which is almost never reported by the media.

The Marines -though still under attack - hold their fire until the children are safe.

That,I guess,is what makes this a "non-story": a story I'll never read in my morning paper.

Note: This account is based on a superb article in the July issue of LEATHERNECK Magazine: written and photographed by Lance Corporal Lucian Friel, USMC.

There is no denying NY Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has the intelligence,presence, determination,and political connections to be a viable candidate for President in 2008.

Picture,if you will,this scenario.

The Democratic Party responds favorably to the idea of a woman in the Oval Office,and,out of the blue,the one woman who could compete with Hillary Clinton,Condaleeza Rice,announces she would be delighted to serve as Senator Clinton's running mate.

The announcement takes the world by storm. Sisterhood is Powerful !

Even Left-wing commentators like Greg Palast and Michael Moore fall silent. Who cares about "Carlyle Group" connections ? A little oil money is good for the Party !

The United States is still entangled in Iraq and Afghanistan.The situation in these two countries is not something apt to just fade away with elections,constitutions,or the opening of Walmart Discount Centers next door to every mosque.

Senator Clinton promises immediate withdrawal of US forces.

It is a promise that will bring the sometimes-skittish extreme left wing of the party back into the fold;that captures undivided,fawning Mainstream Media attention;that assures her-for the most part- of the Woman's Vote.

America,the Clinton-Rice Campaign says, needs a woman's touch.

Hillary's landslide election also sweeps a Democratic Party majority into office ,and there are few obstacles in her path.

On Inauguration Day,the troops will come home: for rest,relaxation,and re-fitting. There are celebratory parades across the Nation.

The new President thanks them for their sacrifices,and berates her predecessor for having demanded too much from them." Never again !",she says ."We cannot impose such burdens on our Reserve and Guard units in the future ! "

"Unfortunately,the world is still a very uncertain place,and we must maintain certain levels of troop strength."

President Clinton calls on Congress to enact a Universal Military Training Act-so that all men and women between certain ages may receive basic instruction in military skills:training that may well help them to achieve greater success later in life. The UMT bill quickly becomes law.

Some shirkers object to the idea,and come up with various schemes to obstruct this valuable learning process.

This could cause problems,but the President recalls there were certain powers given the government in the original Patriot Act:powers she originally objected to,and helped abolish ,but now finds necessary to implement -as a temporary measure,of course.

There are neo-cons and other assorted soreheads who demand to know why a draft is being forced upon the American people. (Yes:these churls actually refer to UMT as a "draft" !)

A grim,determined President Clinton then addresses the nation,alerting all to the new threat.

World-Wide Gender Apartheid !

We learn women are being beaten,humiliated,stripped of their dignity,and barred from participation in politics in : Burkina-Fasso,Algeria,Iran,Pakistan,Saudi Arabia,Somalia,Yemen,and a host of other places.

We learn it is the duty of the United States and/or The United Nations to set things right; to bring peace,justice,and equality to these suffering women.

We learn the UN has been petitioned repeatedly on this subject-at least twice by the President herself-and has done nothing but make meaningless protests.

We learn,because of shameful UN inaction, it is incumbent upon us to act NOW !

About now, you may be wondering: " Where do you come up with this crap ? "

The short answer is I spent a lot of time on the internet, searching things like Hillary Clinton/feminism/gender apartheid/gender issues...and I suggest you do likewise.

Just to get you started,here is Hillary's November 2001 article in Time Magazine.

Soon after I retired, I began selling guitar strings at a large metropolitan area "flea market".

I met a stunning variety of people , from all parts of the world :Indians from the mountains of Peru,turban wearing Sikhs,Russian sailors on shore leave,and Orientals of almost every imaginable origin; but most of the people who came to the market were pretty much like me : typical middle class Americans,sharing a common culture.

There were also Progressives.

Progressives ARE different, and were often immediately identifiable.

The "Che Guevarra" tee shirts were one tipoff,as were the "Free Mumia" and "No Blood for Oil" buttons.

A "Black Power" tee shirt,with its red and black clenched fist motif was something of a giveaway-especially when worn by a middle-aged White male,sporting a greasy ponytail.

It seemed almost a point of honor with them - if you can call theft from a small merchant honorable.

They didn't seem to care what they stole,as long as they managed to steal something-and I learned to put out "bait" : crap I was planning to throw away.I would leave it temptingly in reach,and watch in amusement as these self-important "noble citizens" went for it.

Yes,I know. One should never encourage this sort of thing;but in the course of a long life,I became well acquainted with Retail Security,and learned-early on-it is much more trouble than it is worth to accost this type of thief.

There is loud shouting,outraged complaints of persecution,and the filing of highly-publicized lawsuits.

In the end, an item worth pennies can wind up costing the victim thousands of dollars !

What you can do is stop them in their tracks,and refuse them access to your stock, when they come back for "seconds"...as they will almost certainly will.

Progressives,you see ARE different.

They are often well-to-do,but but like to brag of their "solidarity" with "the little people".

Many feel,because of all the" noble " things they do for us little people,they are entitled to steal from us.

They invariably react with shouting and claims of persecution when challenged.

They will always come back for seconds after robbing you !

ps: Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling on Eminent Domain was a chilling -and saddening reminder. Did anyone notice the alarmed dissent came from the much-maligned Centrists on the Court ?